On Thursday, Big Smoke Burger kicked off their first Vancouver location with free burgers, fries and drink. Suffice to say, almost everyone showed up (as early at 9:30am) and a Peach Arch-type lineup formed. I briefly considered dropping by, but I really had better things to do then stand in line. So I decided to pay them a visit a few days later after the lunch rush. With limited seating, but with what seemed like a small army in the kitchen, the food was being pumped out within reasonable time.

Viv decided to try the 6-ounce Bacon Cheeseburger with a side of fries and drink. As you can clearly see with the cross-section of her burger, the thick patty was still a bit pink. That meant the meat was moist with a tender chew. It was subjected to a nice char which afforded a grilled smokiness to go with the smoked Canadian cheddar. Keeping everything in was the soft and almost moist bun. The side of fresh-cut fries were crunchy and a touch too firm. Yet at the same time, they were still pretty good. We decided to try out the Garlic Rosemary Dip and it was a good decision. With an initial hit of aromatic rosemary giving way to garlic, this helped add moisture to the firm fries.

For myself, I went for their signature Big Smoke Burger with horseradish mayo, caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, tomato and lettuce. The dominant flavours were the ample sweet onions and the bite from the mayo. These 2 combined with the impactful smoked cheddar created layers of flavour. I also added a Poutine on the side where the mild-tasting gravy helped soften up the fries. In this case, this worked as the fries stood up to the wet ingredients including the cheese curds. Overall, we enjoyed out burgers at Big Smoke because the meat was not overdone while the smokiness added big flavours. In terms of price point, it was definitely not cheap as my combo cost $14.00. But then again, one must pay for quality and the pricing is not too far from Fatburger and 5 Guys.

@Christopher Actually, they were firm not due to under-blanching, but rather than aggressive frying the second time. So they were so crunchy that they were firm with not a whole lot of starch potato texture left. With that being said, I still liked them.